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ITV Report

11 November 2012 at 10:00am

Welsh army widows lay wreath to remember loved ones

Thea Davies was with Captain Stephen Healey for three and a half years before he was killed. Photo: Thea Davies

This year's Remembrance Day is particularly poignant for Thea Davies from Cardiff. Six months ago, on May 26, her boyfriend of three and a half years Captain Stephen Healey was killed whilst on patrol in Afghanistan.

Thea said that it has been difficult to adjust over the past few months: "It's been very up and down, obviously the first couple of months were just a blur. I look back at it and I can't really remember what happened from day-to-day. I've now realised that Steve isn't coming home."

Thea told ITV Wales that she's also realised her life has to continue and has started running to raise money: "I'm doing a challenge in his memory of doing 415 miles over the year, by entering various half and full marathons. It is keeping me busy, but also, it's a way to remember Steve and raise money in his memory."

This weekend will be the first time the Army Widows' Association is laying a wreath at the Cenotaph in London. Thea said she wasn't sure how to mark Remembrance Day so soon after Stephen had died: "I got in touch with the Army Widows' Association and met a few of them, and heard they were going down this weekend. I thought that they were probably the best people for me to be with at this moment in time because we're all going through a similar experience."

Victoria Bateman ,28, is the Wales regional officer for the charity. She lost her husband Lance Corporal James Bateman, from 2 Battalion The Parachute Regiment, in 2008. Through her own experiences of being a widow at the age of 24, she hopes to offer support and advice to Thea and others.

Lance Corporal James Bateman Credit: Victoria Bateman

It's very daunting, it's in the public eye, there's a lot of interest and people want to pay their respects but I think the thing I can take away from it the most is that public support is overwhelming. People want to remember your husband, and that is my memory.